The Supreme Court yesterday gave their final verdict on the case of Ilott v Mitson which has been running for over a decade having been batted backwards and forwards through the courts of this land.
The case was one where an estranged daughter challenged her mother’s will, which had been made in the full knowledge that she was being left out of the will, which left her mother’s assets entirely between three animal charities.
Under the law, it has always been possible to challenge a will which has excluded a dependant and failed to make reasonable financial provision for them upon death. However, the daughter was not dependant as she had been estranged from her mother for many decades. She was living on benefits with her husband and, despite attempts at reconciliation, all such attempts had failed.
Various points of law were argued over the years in the different courts but an award had been granted by the Court of Appeal two years ago which was the subject of this current challenged. This award had substantially increased an earlier award by a lower court from £50,000 to more than £160,000. In the end, the lower award was announced as the correct amount in yesterday’s ruling and this sounds the end of the sorry saga.
However, it seems that the wrong legal point was argued, as it was on the actual amount given rather than the principle of whether it should have been given at all. We are still left in a situation where a financial award has been given to someone who was not financially dependent upon the deceased person.
In the ruling yesterday, the justices urged Parliament to review the state of inheritance law, which it described as ”unsatisfactory”. But with other more pressing issues such as the triggering of Article 50, the whole Brexit negotiations and the fiasco that is the government’s U turn on NI contributions for the self-employed, as well as the threatened imminent introduction of the huge increase in Probate Court fees, this might not be a priority!
What this means for those of us making wills is that extreme care needs to be taken when excluding a close family member from a benefit under a will. Whilst it is still possible, and there is a basic principle of testamentary freedom remains, the best way to minimise the chances of a successful claim being successfully brought by a disappointed beneficiary is to carefully document the reasons for their exclusion and to have your will drafted properly.
We at RMP will discuss the options open to you and make sure that as far as is possible you can make sure those you wish to benefit do and those you don’t wish to benefit don’t.
Don’t delay, make your will today!
Contact the RMP team on +441213184707.
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